BTS Donated $1 Million to Black Lives Matter, and Then Their Fans Donated $1 Million Too

Love yourself, team!

The K-pop community is definitely doing their part for the Black Lives Matter movement, with fans flooding racist hashtags with videos of their favourite artists, such as Blackpink, BTS and more.

another hashtag ??? dw we’ll take over this one too ❤️ #AllLivesMattter pic.twitter.com/Ow9pXcTkhE

— ria 𖧵 GO生 (@yeonalia) June 4, 2020

In response, BTS this week released a statement saying they too "stand against racial discrimination", and donated $US1 million to the cause along with their record label Big Hit Entertainment.

Then, they delivered a commencement speech to the class of 2020 on YouTube and shared a performance of hits "Boy With Luv", "Spring Day" and "Mikrokosmos".

Clearly, BTS has given us so much. So, the fans gave back. Showing further solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, the BTS Army set a #MatchaMillion goal on Saturday, and within a day, they had raised more than $US1 million in donations. The funds will be split among Black Lives Matter, Reclaim the Block, National Bail Out, Black Visions Collective, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and more organisations, Billboard reports.

"Black Lives Matter isn’t something that has a time limit. It’s a belief everyone needs to carry in their everyday lives,” a One in an Army spokesperson said in a statement.

"Our current campaign is actually something we planned for four months in collaboration with dozens of other BTS fanbases to celebrate BTS’ seven year anniversary. The campaign is still ongoing and supports COVID-19 relief efforts around the world. But we’re happy to help ARMY organize and support the Black Lives Matter movement. We stand in solidarity with black ARMY. They’re an important part of our family. And we stand with black people everywhere. Your voices deserve to be heard.”

The donations follow another weekend of global protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police. While Washington DC saw its largest demonstration yet—and an entire street renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza—protests extended to many Australian capital cities. Over in the UK, protesters tore down the statue of a slave-trader and threw it into the harbour.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis City Council voted to defund its police department and redirect money to community-based strategies. This has been the primary demand among many of the demonstrators who would like to see a new approach to community engagement rather than traditional policing.

Header Image: YouTube (BANGTANTV)